Ecumenical Patriarch Kosmas

Ecumenical Patriarch Kosmas (1022-8 March 1079) was the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from 2 August 1075 to 8 March 1079, succeeding Ecumenical Patriarch John VIII and preceding Eustratius Garidas.

Biography
Kosmas was born in 1022 to the House of Barsakes, an Orthodox Greek family. He was uneducated, had a weak character, was gullible, and was illiterate, but he became an intimate advisor to Anna Dalassene, the mother of Emperor Alexius I of Byzantium. The eunuch Kosmas was made Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople in 1075, and he became an influential person in Byzantine society. In 1079 Emperor Michael VII of Byzantium made the mistake of allowing him to hold field command, and he was captured at the Battle of Amasia on 6 March in battle with the Seljuk Empire. No ransom money was available, so Sultan Malik Shah had him executed.